


Twisted Up

by classy_lin



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Josh Dun & Tyler Joseph Friendship, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-18 12:58:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18700075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/classy_lin/pseuds/classy_lin
Summary: I hope you like the story so far! Credits go to @nameyourself from fanfiktion.de





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Twisted Up](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/478771) by nameyourself. 



The job at that bar made me sick. If I hadn't needed the money to stay afloat while I was studying, I wouldn't have done that to myself. The constant wiping of the counter, the constant attempts by drunken men to turn it on, the freaking out of drunken women (or better girls) who couldn't get any more drinks. Every weekend I had to force myself to leave my comfortably warm bed in the dormitory. Jenna, my roommate, kept asking me why I didn't look for anything else. The truth was, I had no idea. Therefore I stood again once, with an apron tied around my waist, behind the long bar and was to be tapped off thereby a beer. As I watched the foam crown form, I decided to look for another job as soon as possible. I handed the full glass to the guest, who smilingly thanked me and also paid a good tip. He came every Friday and Saturday, ordered a beer and then sat at the bar. Whenever I had time, I watched him. He looked damn hot and luckily I had often caught him staring at me. But I didn't dare to talk to him and waited about five weeks for him to do it. In addition to looking very good, he was also very intimidating. I only saw his smile when he got his beer and still it never reached his dark eyes.    He always wore a leather jacket, only the shirts underneath and the colour of his trousers changed. I didn't know his name and had no phone number. All I knew was that he had cut his red dyed hair to a mohawk and that his voice was very deep and sexy. I hadn't seen him laugh until one evening when he was there with company.    But it wasn't a woman, it was an equally attractive young man. I had seen him a few times on campus, but didn't know him either. Sighing, I took a rag and wiped small circles on the counter, watching my hand on the rag. I drove together in shock when a young woman put her cocktail glass next to me.    I hadn't seen her coming and hadn't heard the music through the loud basses. "Do you still have one?" She was babbling and after pronouncing the sentence she had to burp. When she giggled softly I shook her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm not allowed to serve anything above a certain alcohol level." She turned her eyes and staggered to the other end of the bar where my colleague, Colin, distributed the drinks. She probably had more luck with him, even though I wasn't very happy about it. I looked at the woman shortly afterwards and began to sink into my thoughts again, when suddenly a hand came into my field of vision. "Can I get another one?" the red-haired young man asked me, lowered his hand and smiled. I looked at him critically but his pronunciation was correct and he didn't seem drunk otherwise either. However, I had first served him a beer. So I nodded, also smiling, and gave him another beer. "How is it that you drink two today?' I asked after taking all my courage together. He took the glass and laughed quietly. It sounded wonderfully melodic. With a shrug of his shoulder he took a sip. When he lowered the glass he smiled at me again and shortly afterwards he went back to his seat. I didn't know what to think of it. I thought I could start a conversation. Normally that worked for most guests. But he seemed to have no interest in small talk, which was a pity. After all, I wanted to meet the red-haired young man. The next morning I told Jenna what my night was like. Like every time she was surprised how lively I was already at 10 o'clock in the morning, even if I had to work until 6 o'clock. "Was the guy with the red Iro back?" she asked euphorically. Three weeks ago she had asked me to describe him to her and since then she thought that we would fit together very well. "Yes, and imagine he ordered two beers yesterday." I wiggled my eyebrows and Jenna had to laugh. "What did that mean?" she asked. I'd like to know that too. "I asked him and he just shrugged his shoulders. Then he sat back down on his chair." My roommate sighed. "That is hard. He didn't want to talk, huh?" "Apparently not." I shrugged my shoulders and got up from my bed to take a shower. When I came back Jenna had disappeared and I could guess where. For a few days she had been dating a guy named Tyler who, according to her descriptions, was supposed to be an angel on earth. They had chemistry and English in common and a school project brought them closer together. When she told me about it, I couldn't resist telling myself how stereotypical it all sounded. But she seemed happy, so I denied any further comment. I decided to do some homework as I had nothing better to do anyway. Besides, I didn't have to think about going back to that bar in the evening to serve party-happy teenagers. When the door to my room opened, I looked at the clock for the first time. Have I really been sitting on this essay for five hours? That was really sad, because I had only managed three from ten sides. I looked up and saw Jenna standing in the door, next to her a tall, slim young man with brown short hair and dark brown eyes. Jenna jumped up and down excitedly. "Hey. I wanted you to meet Tyler. Ty, this is my roommate, Alex," she said and pointed her right hand at me. I got up from my desk chair and walked towards them. Tyler seemed more than familiar. And I also knew where from. He was in the bar recently with the red-haired guy. "Hi," said the brown-haired man, reaching out his hand to me. I took it. "Nice to finally get to know you properly," I said truthfully. I would totally squeeze him out about his friend. "W-what", Tyler asked and looked a bit confused, Jenna also looks at me suspiciously. "Oh, excuse me. I've seen you on campus a few times before and Jenna has told me a lot about you too." My roommate turned red and Tyler looked down at her with a grin before looking back at me.    "Besides," I continued, "you were recently at Jeremy's bar with your red-haired buddy."    Jenna giggled quietly and clapped her hands. "That sounds like a double date!"    But Tyler didn't look enthusiastic. He pulled his face and played nervously with his T-shirt.    "You mean Josh," he asked hesitantly and I asked myself what was wrong. "Yes. Is he... not a friend of yours? Jenna also looked worried and took Tyler's hands into hers.    He sighed. "Somehow he did." "But you don't seem to like him very much," Jenna doubted, and I nodded. Tyler shook his head and smiled a little. "That's not it, really. He's a good friend. But certainly not a good boyfriend, you know?" My roommate and I nodded. "Too bad", Jenna said, "Alex described him really super sweet." She laughed quietly and I noticed that I turned red as Tyler giggled quietly. "Anyway," I muttered, "I have to write an essay. So, if you'll excuse me?" Both said goodbye to me and I sat down at my desk again. My thoughts digressed. Josh. I liked the name. And even though Tyler had warned me about him, I knew I would talk to him again. Somehow I had a preference for the bad guys. This time I had also a good topic of conversation, namely his buddy.    Suddenly the thought of working in the evening was not so bad anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the story so far! Credits go to @nameyourself from fanfiktion.de

Josh came in later than usual and ordered a Coke, not a beer. "Are you sure?" I asked in wonder and he nodded his head stiffly. I gave him what he demanded and got no tip. Who knows what was going on. About an hour later Josh stood at the bar again. This time he ordered a beer. His mood seemed better and when I handed him his glass I decided to talk to him again.    "By the way, it's nice to finally know your name, Josh.    The man opposite me frowned and I had to grin.    "Today I got to know my roommate's boyfriend. As it turned out, this was the guy who was here with you recently. Tyler was so nice to tell me your name."    He mumbled something to himself. "What? I asked him, because I hadn't understood a word. "Oh, nothing."    He reached out his hand to me. "Also nice to get to know you..." "Alex," I answered and he smiled. He repeated "Alex" and nodded. Finally I had made him talk. More than 'One beer please' or 'Thank you'. But unfortunately nothing came to my mind afterwards. "Then let your beer taste", I only said. Lame. I would have loved to have slapped myself in the face. "It certainly will. You always get that super", Josh replied smiling and moved back to his place. Somehow he managed to get the same stool at the bar every week. That was good for me, because so I could watch him better. And luckily there was not much going on, which made it even easier for me. Shortly after 2 Colin came grinning over to me and put an arm around me. "Call me God because I could negotiate with the boss that one of us could leave sooner because there is not much going on. And since I know how much you hate it here, I will make you this wonderful offer". I looked up at my colleague and snorted contemptuously. "What's the catch?"  He grabbed his chest with one hand and looked injured when played. "That offends me sweetie. There is none. Unless you want to leave me your tip today." I twisted my eyes and grabbed my wallet. We were allowed to take the tip right away. My yield that day wasn't exactly big, so I could only put a tenner in Colin's hand. "Please and thank you," I said grinning and he shook his head. "No thanks, sweetheart. See you next week, then." I waved to him and disappeared through the back exit from the bar. Outside I breathed in the fresh air and enjoyed the warm wind blowing over my skin. I loved the summer nights in Columbus. When I went home I had the feeling that someone was following me and I started to run faster. I heard my name and stopped. I turned around in amazement. Josh came up to me and I had to smile. "Hey. What are you doing here?" "I noticed that you were no longer there and thought I might accompany you better. Not exactly safe alone at night as a pretty young woman." My cheeks were burning and I hoped Josh couldn't see that. But even if I did, I thought to myself. Who didn't blush with such nice compliments? "That's really nice of you. One of the worst things about my job is going home alone. Jenna has already thought about equipping my cell phone with GPS in case I get lost." Josh laughed and pinched his eyes slightly. I agreed, but I couldn't help but watch him. We walked quietly next to each other for a while until we walked under a bridge. Suddenly everything went faster than I had thought possible. The cold stone wall pressed me in the back, Josh pressed himself against me and held my arms over my head. His lips lay down on mine and I smelled his sweet breath. He kissed me stormily, our teeth beat more than once against each other. I turned my head a little to the side because I wanted to gasp for air. I also wanted to know what that was all about. Not that I really had anything against it, but it went a little too fast for my taste. I didn't even know him. "Josh', I said and sounded completely breathless. He seemed to take it wrong. "Alex", he moaned and kissed me again. I tried to shake my head. "Josh", I said again with emphasis and he interrupted the kiss. He frowned the forehead and let go of my arms. "What is it? "What is this?" I asked the counter question. I got no answer, instead the red-haired man put his lips on my neck and hummed quietly. A goose bump formed in my neck. I honestly didn't know what to think of it. "Josh", I said again.    His head shot up and this time he looked down angrily at me. "What?" he asked sharply, and I flinched a little.   "Can't you just enjoy it? That would have made everything so much more pleasant." I didn't understand what he meant. "You frighten me', I admitted. "I'm sorry', the man muttered softly to me and lowered his lips back to my neck. I couldn't move, because he pressed me with his whole body against the stone wall. A hand now on my mouth. I opened my eyes in panic. What was he up to? Was this supposed to be rape? Tears filled my eyes and my breathing became heavier, but I could hardly breathe. Suddenly I noticed a stabbing pain on my neck. Shortly afterwards loud swallowing noises sounded and I felt sick. How was that possible? Did that just really happen? I tried to scream but I did not succeed and I panicked. If he continued like this I would soon pass out. If he continued afterwards, I would die. The fact that my mind worked so well was a bit scary, because I noticed how my consciousness faded and Josh's whole body became looser. Once again I gathered all my strength and pushed my knee into his crotch. I seemed to have hit quite well, because Josh cursed quietly and curved before me. I tried to run, but my body resisted. I only progressed slowly and finally fell.  Strong hands pulled me back on my legs and dark eyes came into my field of vision before everything around me turned black.


	3. Chapter 3

I opened my eyes and noticed that I seemed to have bathed in sweat that night. My heart raced and didn't even really want to calm down when I sat up and tried to breathe deeply. Confused I looked around. Where was I? When I saw Jenna sleeping peacefully in her bed on the other side of the room, I calmed down a bit. I let myself sink back into my bed. It had all been just a dream. I closed my eyes and forced myself to get a few more hours of sleep before I had to keep working on my essay. Six hours earlier...

Josh's POV  
Alex had given me a good kick, but I could catch me quickly again. As quickly as I could, I ran after her. Since she was not particularly fast on the way, I also managed quite well to catch up with her again. At the thought of her sweet, tempting blood the water ran in my mouth and triumphantly I had to smile. Nobody could escape me. What did she actually think? Alex laid on the ground and immediately I seemed to be able to think again clearly. How could my mind darken so? What had happened? Had I really attacked her? The girl in front of me urgently needed help, so I grabbed her by both arms and pulled her up. "Alex", I asked and noticed myself how desperate I sounded.    I shook her a little, but she remained motionless. Like an oversized doll she swayed back and forth in my hands.    "Alex", I exclaimed with a little more emphasis; but nothing. She remained silent. "Shit", I murmured and put it carefully again on the cold ground. I took my phone to the hand and selected a number which I wanted to call actually never again because of a mistake. "What," Tyler, my observer, said, overslept. "You know, Josh. People have to sleep a little from time to time. "I know, Tyler. But I need your help, and I need it badly!" While I was talking I kept on backing away from Alex because I didn't want to risk doing her any more harm. She was the reason why I came to this damn bar every weekend.    It had become a ray of hope in my dark world and in none of my worst nightmares had I ever hurt her. Until now. Only it wasn't a dream. I had really fed on her, drunk her blood, almost killed her. I let myself sink to the ground and noticed that tears filled my eyes. Really? Quickly I wiped them aside. "Josh. Josh? Josh," Tyler screamed and I noticed that I was still holding the phone to my ear. "Yes', I said tonelessly of myself. "What happened?" asked my observer.    "Alex...", I only brought out and immediately the line was dead.    I didn't want to know what I was allowed to hear from Tyler. My head alone already made me enough reproaches. After more than two hundred years I had found something that made my life worth living and I had to destroy it. What if Alex would remember everything? She would be afraid of me forever, but that would not be my only problem.    What if she told my secret to other people? What if it caused a mass panic? Sighing, I looked over at the girl whom I never wanted to hurt and shook my head. At some distance I could hear fast footsteps and fast breathing. Tyler ran, I could not blame him. After all, the whole thing was far too out of joint. My observer had warned me, he had also threatened me. "If you do anything to the girl, you leave town, understand?" He had said and I had only rolled my eyes and not taken him for a full person. I had been so arrogant and thought that my centuries of experience would not let me make any mistakes. And yet I sat here now. In the middle of the night, next to a motionless girl and hated me for my offence. I had no idea how much she would overwhelm me. I was so sure that I could get close to her without falling into a bloodlust. Tyler's footsteps became louder and louder until they finally fell silent beside me. But not even two seconds later he ran on to Alex. "Fuck," he shouted and kneeled down to her. I noticed how again the tears shot into my eyes and I hated it that this girl made me so vulnerable. Slowly I got up and went to Tyler who checked Alex' pulse. "You're really lucky she's still alive, you idiot! What's gotten into you?" "I... I don't know. Tyler, I'm sorry, honestly", I said and noticed again how desperate I sounded. My observer looked up at me and frowned. "I warned you, Josh. You will bring her home now and then you will see her again.  
He stood up and looked at me expectantly. "I can't, Tyler." And suddenly he understood. His gaze became soft. "Fuck', it escaped him again, but this time it sounded more like pity. "But why have you attacked them if...? "I don't know, Tyler! Ok? She overwhelmed me. I thought I could do that. After all, I've been one long enough...long enough this DING that I thought I had it under control. But she..." I shook my head, sighing. Tyler put one hand on my shoulder. "Okay, Josh. I understand. But you still bring her home, okay? I'll check on her in the morning. And you're gonna try to stay away from her despite everything, are we clear?"    "You...", ...I don't know, I was going to argue but I knew Tyler wouldn't let a single word of mouth count. "She may be your soul mate, but you know best that you would only harm her. Do you not want her to lead a happy life? "Yes, of course. You're right', I gave in. He was right. And yet he wouldn't be able to stop me from protecting her all her life.


End file.
